X Factor
cobmerga@theguidon.com
Many of Filipinos’ jobs require road activities, especially driving. Unfortunately, no matter how many years our citizens have been driving, they still seem to be unaware of the road rules. If ever they are aware, they choose to disobey them since they can easily get out of trouble by paying off the cops.
In a documentary on GMA 7, a taxi driver was asked about the meaning of a “Pedestrian crossing” sign. The driver confidently answered the question by saying, “Ibig sabihin niyan, dapat alalayan ang mga bata pag tumatawid (What that means is, we should help children cross the road).”
Having this kind of answer from many jeepney or bus drivers is not really unimaginable since getting a driver’s license in our country does not require much knowledge about road signs.
It was November of last year when I got my driver’s license. The whole process was fast and easy. Almost all the questions were already given in the reviewers that the Land Transportation Office lends the applicants minutes before the exam. Aside from this, the test is held in a place where all the road signs and their meanings are displayed. The people taking the test can easily look around whenever they don’t know the answers. Everything needed to pass the test seem to have just been given away. No wonder a lot of drivers pass the test, but do not seem to care about the road signs when they get to set their wheels on the streets.
According to the Highway Patrol Group of the Philippine National Police, the cases of road accidents involving all motor vehicles increased from a total of 5,551 cases in 2002 to 11,532 in 2007. Among the main causes why these accidents happen are errors in judgment, over-speeding, bad overtaking, and mechanical problems.
A lot of drivers load and unload where there is the “No loading and unloading” sign and park where there is the “No parking” sign. They swerve their cars uncontrollably as if they have already elevated changing lanes to an art form. A lot of drivers even look at the road lanes and traffic lights as a mere serving suggestion. They accelerate their car as much as they can if they see the yellow light and proceed even when it has already switched to red.
Driving in our country has truly become a privilege without any responsibility. It is like playing a very dangerous game where everyone is considered an enemy or a competitor. No matter how careful we are, trying to reach our finish lines, there will always be a threat of danger brought by undisciplined people who don’t know how to follow safety rules. Filipinos have already learned to adapt perfectly to the much heightened state of improper road manner and alertness that they have become really good at it, navigating Manila with ease.
Road accidents will surely happen as long as our road users are not aware of the road safety practices. And awareness is not enough, it is also important that we become disciplined drivers and follow them. Our government is trying its best to offer us a complete set of road rules, but all their efforts would be useless if we ourselves won’t care about safety.
